A SCOTTISH teenager has been selected to represent Great Britain at the World Transplant Games in Australia in April 2023 – but needs help to get there.
Eloise Lowrie, 17, from Rothienorman, Aberdeenshire, has been picked to compete in badminton and table tennis, in which she won gold and silver at the British Transplant Games this year.
Eloise received a new heart when she was just over a year old and has competed in the British Transplant Games most years since she was 18 months old as part of Great Ormond Street Hospital’s hearts and lungs team.
GOSH is one of only two paediatric heart transplant units in the UK.
Her mother, Sarah, said: “Eloise wants to use this fantastic opportunity not only to honour her donor and their family for their truly amazing gift, but to also raise awareness of organ donation and the need for child donors.
“It is a very difficult topic to think about your wishes as an adult, but even harder to consider what you would want to do if the worst were to happen to your child.
"If Eloise can help get people thinking and talking about their wishes – whatever they decide to do – that would be amazing.
“We can never thank her donor family enough for thinking about saving other children at the worst point of their lives. They have allowed us to have our daughter for an extra 16 years (so far!) and perhaps helping others to talk about their wishes may go a small way to show our gratitude.”
Eloise has to fund the trip herself at a cost of about £6000 for her and an accompanying adult. She is looking for sponsorship – click here to donate.
Any money raised goes directly to Transplant Sport which Eloise can then access for Games-related costs only. Any extra money will go to the charity.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here